Chandigarh gets 80 electric buses under FAME Scheme

The Central government on Friday sanctioned 670 electric buses for Chandigarh, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat and 241 charging stations in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Gujarat and Port Blair under Phase-II of the FAME India Scheme.

What is the FAME Scheme?

The FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (hybrid and) Electric Vehicles) was launched by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises in 2015 to incentivize the production and promotion of eco-friendly vehicles including electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles.

Two phases of the scheme

–Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on March 31, 2019. About 2,80,987 hybrid and electric vehicles were supported by way of demand incentive, amounting to about Rs 359 crore.

–Phase II: started from April 1, 2019, will be completed by March 31, 2022. The phase focuses on supporting electrification of public and shared transportation and aims to support (through subsidies) approximately 7,000 e-buses, 5 lakh e-3 wheelers, 55,000 e-4 wheeler passenger cars and 10 lakh e-2 wheelers.

Union Heavy Industries Minister Prakash Javadekar said the decision reflected the Centre’s commitment to reduce dependence on fossil fuel and address the issues of vehicular emissions.

“This is a good start, these e-buses, e-rickshaws and e-scooties, as well as e-cars for city use, are the best way forward for environment-friendly transport,” he said.

In a series of tweets, the Minister informed that 25 charging stations had been sanctioned in Kollam, 27 in Thiruvananthapuram and 28 in Malappuram (all in Kerala). Besides, 10 charging stations have been sanctioned in Port Blair and 25 in Tiruchirappalli in Tamil Nadu. “Already 450 buses are plying in various cities. Now 670 e-buses are sanctioned. Maharashtra has got 240, Gujarat has got 250, Goa has got 100 and Chandigarh has got 80. Kerala and other states have also got e-charging stations because all those corporations who are completing the formalities, we are sanctioning e-buses for them,” said the minister.